PITTSBURGH -- Acne is a rite of passage for most folks as they go through puberty. Approximately 90% of all adolescents and 25% of all adults experience acne. But in some, the problem can be particularly serious, and cause permanent scarring.

“I was self conscious about it but no body ever really noticed it or would say anything, but it was something that I saw and I would have a problem with that I wanted to correct.” Ariana Tauro is twenty years old now, no longer a teenager, no longer in high school, but the scars of the acne which started in her freshman year remain. “It’s more so visible when I’m not, tan and then the scarring I guess, really like a couple of years ago, maybe when I stopped going through puberty and it started scarring.”

Dr. David Goldberg, a skin laser expert, says, “Millions of people have this problem. The more common of acne scarring is the fact that the pimple is so inflamed, that the inflammation itself actually destroys the skin and that leads to the scar.”

The only treatments for acne scars until recently were either dermabrasion, which was uncomfortable and messy, or a laser that also left an oozing wound. But a new laser can now remove the scar without causing a wound, and without pain.

New research in the Archives of Dermatology shows acne scars can be reduced using this laser, called a YAG laser.

Dr. Goldberg says, “The way the lasers work for acne scars is that they actually build collagen below the skin, that is that they take an acne scar that is deep and they push it up from below, they do nothing from the outside, they push it up from below and therefore it’s less obvious to the eye.”

The treatment can be done during a lunchtime office visit with no subsequent down time.

According to Dr. Goldberg, wide and shallow scars respond best to the laser, while deep narrow scars are much more difficult, if not impossible, to respond to the laser. In the study, eleven patients with acne scars were treated with the laser during five treatment sessions given three-weeks apart. The study demonstrated that this Yag laser provides a safe and effective non-invasive treatment for mild to moderate facial acne scarring.

“It’s time to stop being depressed when you look in the mirror at your acne scars because you can do something and finally it’s really easy to do something,” Dr. Goldberg insists.

“I just really want to be natural looking and simple. That’s what my goal is, says Ariana.”